1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable aircraft hangar. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable canopy that is suspended over a helicopter's rotor assembly.
2. Description of the Background Art
The use of portable hangars is known in the prior art. Portable hangars are used in situations where permanent fixed hangars are inaccessible and are designed to be easily and quickly installed with a minimum of effort. When installed, the hangars protect aircraft from unwanted environmental factors, such as heat, rain, and snow, and can also be used as camouflage to prevent unwanted detection of the aircraft.
An example of a portable hangar is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,0962 Pugh. The hanger of Pugh includes a sheet of protective covering material that is supported by the main rotor blade, which serves as a ridge-pole running forward and aft along an offset center line of the helicopter body. The protector further includes main rotor support holders, main rotor tie down means and a plurality of tension binding straps. The protective covering material includes a cap portion located in the center portion of the sheet that is adapted to fit over the governors or other parts on top of the main rotor drive system in a manner such that no stress is placed on these parts.
An additional portable hangar is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,9688 to Deichmann. Deichmann discloses a climatic heat aircraft protective (CHAP)′ screen that is especially for use with helicopters. The CHAP screen includes a containment bag that is used to compactly stow the screen prior to deployment and is additionally used to secure the screen to a helicopter's rotor blade assembly during deployment. Tow ropes are included at the ends of radial deployment strips to facilitate securing the screen in a deployed condition. When fully deployed the screen is operative to reflect sunlight while allowing air to pass through there.
Although each of these prior systems achieves its own individual objectives, they both suffer from similar drawbacks. Namely, neither Pugh nor Deichmann disclose hangars which are adapted to be supported above the rotors of a helicopter. Moreover, neither of these devices is adjustable to accommodate varying aircraft sizes. Furthermore, these assemblies are complicated to deploy requiring several individuals to deploy and excessive amounts of time. Thus, there exists a need in the art for a portable aircraft hangar which can be supported above the rotors of an aircraft and which is readily adjustable and which is further easily deployable with minimal user effort.